The common approach for heat treating materials, such as metallic substances that include iron based alloys, is to place the material in or pass the material through a gas-fired furnace, or other form of ambient heating furnace or induction furnace that heats the material to the desired heat treatment temperature. As such, the materials may experience either a batch-type heat treatment process, in which the materials experience a stage-by-stage form of heat treatment, or a continuous-type heat treatment process, in which the materials experience a heat treatment process that includes a continuous motion for the materials to undergo different heat treatment techniques.
For example, when heat treating steel, the steel may be passed through or placed within a gas-fired or induction furnace for purposes of heating. The steel may then be removed from or exit the furnace to either be cooled or quenched according to various known techniques to achieve the desired physical properties in the steel depending upon whether the steel has been heated above or below its transformation temperature or selected critical temperatures thereof. However, very substantial capital investment is needed to provide a gas-fired furnace and other related equipment of the size that is capable of heat treating metallic tubular members, steel sheets, or the like. Further, the maintenance of such equipment may bring about other challenges to lengthen the life expectancy of such equipment.